This High-Res Satellite Can Count the Number of Chickens on Earth

Now that the WorldView-3, the world's first satellite capable of capturing high-resolution public images has launched, here's exactly what it is capable of doing all the way up from 385 miles above the Earth, according to this cool Mashable article:

It may prevent famine in Syria by identifying ahead of time exactly how many crops are being grown now that two million refugees, mostly farmers, have fled the country.

It can help identify invasive species, tell the difference between limestone and sandstone, and inform cities where all their manhole covers and mailboxes are.

It can estimate the number of chickens on the planet via its chicken coops (seriously!)

It will send 1.2 GB of data back to Earth every second. Which means that it can send an extremely detailed image of everything between New York City and Washington, D.C., in just 45 seconds.

If it were sitting in the 'O' in the Hollywood sign, it would be able to count the number of people on the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, which is 385 miles away.